In central North Carolina almost any type of vegetable or fruit can be grown successfully provided you choose appropriate varieties and plant at the right time. This publication covers climate, season and potential pests that all affect the selection of what and when to plant. Also included is a planting chart and calendar.

In eastern North Carolina, almost any type of vegetable or fruit can be successfully grown provided you choose appropriate varieties and plant at the right time. This publication covers climate, season, and potential pests that all affect the selection of what and when to plant. Includes a planting chart and calendar.

This Plants Grown in Containers chapter from the Extension Gardener Handbook teaches gardeners about selecting appropriate plants and containers, and their maintenance. Both indoor houseplants and outdoor container gardening are covered.

In western North Carolina, almost any type of vegetable or fruit can be successfully grown provided you choose appropriate varieties and plant at the right time. This publication covers climate, season, and potential pests that all affect the selection of what and when to plant. Includes a planting chart and calendar.

The Gardening Activity Guide is designed to expose young children to seasonal fruit and vegetable gardening in childcare centers. Based on the Preventing Obesity by Design (POD) model, the guide provides a resource for teachers to encourage children’s physical activity and outdoor learning through gardening and related activities.

In this publication you will find ideas to get you started growing your own edibles. Included are simple designs and potential settings for a single container, a small group of containers and a larger grouping of containers. The benefits and challenges of various planting options will also be explored.

This Wildlife Chapter from the Extension Gardener Handbook teaches readers to recognize the value of wildlife in the landscape and how to create a suitable back yard wildlife habitat. It also examines wildlife challenges and strategies discouraging pest, game, non-game, and federally protected migratory bird species.

This woody ornamentals chapter from the Extension Gardener Handbook reviews the types of vines, shrubs, and trees as well as proper landscape design, plant selection, planting, staking, and pruning practices. It also reviews common insect and disease problems of woody ornamentals.

This publication covers the keys to a successful community garden of individual plots including forming a strong planning team, choosing a safe site accessible to the target audience with sunlight and water, organizing a simple transparent system for management and designing and installing the garden. Appendices offer a sample layout, sample by-laws, sample budgets and a list of resources.

Asparagus has been considered a garden delicacy since Roman times. Any home gardener can grow and enjoy this spring vegetable. Asparagus is a perennial. If you plant and manage properly it will produce for 15 years or more. Since this crop will occupy the land for many years you should select and prepare the asparagus bed carefully -- location, soil type, soil fertility, size and age of crowns and correct planting are important.

This series of publications provides information about how to grow, harvest, and prepare a variety of fruits and vegetables from your garden. Each publication features recipes, recommended uses, nutrition information, and more.

Caladiums are grown for their long-lasting, colorful foliage. Color combinations include various shades of red, pink, white, green, and yellow-green, with prominently colored midribs and contrasting margins. There are two basic types of caladium cultivars: fancy- and strap-leaved.

This series of publications provides information about how to grow, harvest, and prepare a variety of fruits and vegetables from your garden. Each publication features recipes, recommended uses, nutrition information, and more.

This series of publications provides information about how to grow, harvest, and prepare a variety of fruits and vegetables from your garden. Each publication features recipes, recommended uses, nutrition information, and more.

Flowers have traditionally been used in many types of cooking: European, Asian,
East Indian, Victorian English, and Middle Eastern. Early American settlers also used
flowers as food. Today, there is a renewed interest in edible flowers for their taste,
color, and fragrance. Many herbal flowers have the same flavor as their leaves, though
others, such as chamomile and lavender blossoms, have a subtler flavor.

Community gardens have been part of the American landscape since the mid-1700s. Today, community gardens continue to make positive contributions in neighborhoods across North Carolina. Winner of an American Society for Horticultural Science, Extension Division, 2017 Educational Materials Award, Collard Greens and Common Ground: A North Carolina Community Food Gardening Handbook is a practical guide to community gardening. Based on experience and research, it is packed with best practices, tested strategies, and useful checklists. The guide covers every step in the community gardening process, from starting a new garden to sustainable long-term garden management and policy. Whether you are new to community gardening or a seasoned veteran, Collard Greens and Common Ground will help your community garden flourish.

Proper tree care is an important part of a homeowner's investment. This publication guides consumers through the process of selecting and contracting an arborist. It provides several websites that list certified professionals and it advises what key items should be included in a contract.

Gardens bring communities together. Not only are community gardens a good way to get more fresh fruits and vegetables in our diets, they also allow us to be active outdoors and build a strong community.

This publication, chapter 9 of Collard Greens and Common Ground: A North Carolina Community Food Gardening Handbook, focuses on planting strategies and planting times for various crops in food gardens.

This Youth, Community, and Therapeutic Gardening Chapter from the Extension Gardener Handbook helps volunteers understand how these types of gardens can be sucessful and the steps needed to be an effective mentor.

Ornamental sweetpotatoes are extremely heat-tolerant, tropical, perennial vines grown as annuals in North Carolina. They look great covering annual beds, hanging over walls or trailing from containers. This publication covers cultivars, how to select the plants, care through the growing season and pests and diseases.

This publication alerts prospective gardeners to some of the most common contaminants in urban soils, such as lead and other toxic metals, solvents, pesticides and total petroleum hydrocarbons. This will help minimize potential risks to gardeners and to those who consume garden produce. The document includes information regarding site characterization, common contaminants, soil testing, interpretation of results and strategies for reducing exposure risks.

This publication, chapter 10 of Collard Greens and Common Ground: A North Carolina Community Food Gardening Handbook, discusses food safety when growing crops in a community garden, including pesticides, sanitation, and irrigation.

This publication, chapter 6 of Collard Greens and Common Ground: A North Carolina Community Food Gardening Handbook, discusses the organization of the community garden, including roles and responsibilities.

Right at your doorstep may be many of the answers to the social, educational, and health challenges faced by children, parents, and teachers in the United States. Tips for encouraging outdoor activities with children are included, along with strategies for setting a standard to be outdoors, care for the environment, and spend time with family.

This publication, chapter 3 of Collard Greens and Common Ground: A North Carolina Community Food Gardening Handbook, offers community garden organizers insight on choosing potential sites for a community food garden.

This publication, chapter 7 of Collard Greens and Common Ground: A North Carolina Community Food Gardening Handbook, offers users management tips for a community garden, including a seasonal maintenance calendar.

This publication, chapter 13 of Collard Greens and Common Ground: A North Carolina Community Food Gardening Handbook, offers strategies for dealing with common gardening problems in a community garden setting.

This publication, chapter 12 of Collard Greens and Common Ground: A North Carolina Community Food Gardening Handbook, offers advice for community gardeners to expand their involvement in the larger community.

Effective frost protection methods exist, however, each year, a portion of the state's fruit and vegetable crop is lost to low-temperature damage. This leaflet explains the principles of frosts and freezes and provides information on protection methods.